Question on Judea and Samaria

[Secularbeliever]

If the Israelis did do the "land swap" where Israel kept the settlement blocs around Jerusalem and gave up heavy Arab sections of the Gallilee and Negev (as if those Arabs would agree to give up the good life in Israel for their "brothers" in the PA) how would that affect Israel's strategic depth.  Would the country still only be 8 miles wide?  Is the Jordan Valley the real strategic asset?

[Zelhar]

The Arab muslim nazi city of Qalqilyah sits right at the tip where the "green line" is closet to the sea and this is just one example. So yes Israel would retreat to an insanely narrow border even if settlement blocks are kept.

There are Arab nazi settlements that are adjacent to Samaria within the green line. The Arabs who live there would refuse to be annexed into "Palestine", they will keep their citizenship anyway, and I think it is very unlikely that a swap will include any such Arab settlement. The likely areas to be swapped are Parts of the Negev adjacent to Gaza and parts of south mount Hebron.

The Jordan valley being a buffer between Nazi Jordan and Judea and Samaria is of great strategic value. It is an Area with very thin Arab population and Jewish settlements are spread all the way down to the dead Sea. In case of invasion from the east the heals overlooking the valley are clearly very important but moreover it is the buffer itself which keeps the Arabs from smuggling into Judea and Samaria missiles and other weapons like they do in Gaza.

[Raulmarrio2000]

Israel is doing the wrong strategy. The real issue is not land but just Jerusalem. Israel should take Har Habayt for real, not just in the papers. Once Arabs lose all hope about Jerusalem, the problem would be easily solved. Most "Palestinians" are willing to leave but no country receives them because Arabs want to use them to harrass Israel and control Jerusalem.

[Secularbeliever]

Israel is doing the wrong strategy. The real issue is not land but just Jerusalem. Israel should take Har Habayt for real, not just in the papers. Once Arabs lose all hope about Jerusalem, the problem would be easily solved. Most "Palestinians" are willing to leave but no country receives them because Arabs want to use them to harrass Israel and control Jerusalem.

The Arabs had eastern Jerusalem from 1948 until June 1967 and did nothing with it.  They only want it now because the Jews have it.